Ulundhu Kali / Uluntangali / Urad Dal Halwa – South Indian Recipe

Ulundhu Kali / Uluntangali is a South Indian traditional delight. This traditional sweet is specially given to teen girls when they attain puberty mainly because as it strengthens the pelvic bones and muscles. This sweet is made of super nutritious ingredients like urad dal (Protein), palm jaggery(Iron) and gingelly oil (Vitamin E). You can have this healthy and nutritional dish for breakfast or as snacks. Good for adults and kids.

Ingredients

3/4 Cup of Urad Dal (White) 1 and 1/4 Cup of Palm Jaggery 1/4 Cup of Gingelly Oil Pinch of Salt 1/2 Cup of water or as needed

Method

Grate the palm jaggery and keep it aside. Dry roast the urad dal lightly, let it cool for sometime. In a pan, heat the water, after it boils, add the palm jaggery , let it be in the flame until jaggery melts and stir it occasionally. Once it done, turn off the flame

Powdered the urad dal finely or rava consistency using mixie or spice grinder. Using tea strainer, strain the jaggery syrup to get rid of impurities.

In a medium flame, add the Jaggery syrup to the same pan, add a pinch of salt, bring it to a boil, add urad dal powder little by little and stir well to avoid lumps. Add oil little by little and keep on stirring until the mixture leaves the sides of a pan.

Serve hot or cold with a tsp of ghee. Make a small balls, in the center, add a tsp of ghee. Sorry I didn’t use ghee in my recipe. Tips

Adjust sweetness according to your taste buds. For sweetness, you can use yellow jaggery (Vellam) from sugarcane or Palm Jaggery (Karuppatti) from palm . Adding ghee gives you a rich taste. Addition of cardamom powder or coconut is optional. Always use gingelly oil for a authentic South Indian taste. Otherwise you can do full recipe with ghee. Try to avoid lumps while mixing. Adding a pinch of salt enhances sweetness. If you want more like a halwa padham, then you should add more ghee and oil.

Health Benefits of Urad Dal

“Best medicine for back ache ” Urad Dal

Urad dal provides energy to the body. Rich in protein. Enhances digestion because of high in fiber content. Boost heart health because of high in magnesium level.

Palm Jaggery

Ability to cleanse your body, act as a digestive agent, sweeten your food in a healthy manner and provides a good amount of minerals.

Sambar Powder / Sambhar Podi / Curry Powder

Sambar powder /sambhar podi / curry powder is a basic and important ingredient available in all South Indian kitchen. This sambar powder is prepared by sun drying and pan roasting of whole spices, make it to a fine powder using a spice grinder. Ingredients and method of making sambar powder may vary from one home to other home. This is my mom’s method. I can say, this powder is her magic wand in making most of her recipes not only in sambar preparation but also she treats it as a curry powder and uses it in curries, stir fries, kulambu, kootu & korma. It tastes extremely good and delicious. So everytime we return from India, our bags are filled with sambar powder, curry leaves powder, kulambu milagai powder and paruppu podi. So one fine morning my heart sank as I found that my spice supply was getting low . So I started making my own sambar powder after getting the formula from my Mom and it turned out really good. So here is the sambhar powder recipe so that any one can taste a slice of South Indian cuisine …

Ingredients to make Sambar powder

1 Kg of Whole Coriander Seeds ( Dhania) 1 Kg of Dry Red Chillies (Varamilagai) 1/4 Kg of Whole Turmeric( Virali Manjal) 100 gms of Whole Black Pepper ( Milagu) 100 gms of Whole Cumin ( Seeragam) 100 gms of Fenugreek ( Vendhayam) 100 gms of Toor Dal ( Thuvaram Paruppu) 100 gms of Bengal Gram (Kadalai Paruppu) 50 gms of Mustard (Kadugu)

Method for sambhar podi

Measure the ingredients one by one correctly in a weighing machine. Dry the whole coriander seeds, whole turmeric and red chillies in a sunlight for 6 hrs. Roast the rest of the ingredients in a pan without oil, roast it one by one until it turns golden brown and aroma comes. Let it cool for 30 mins. Grind all the sun dry and dry roast ingredients in a spice grinder or flour mill to a fine powder. Spread the ground powder in a wide plate or in a newspaper to cool for 30 mins or 1 hr. Transfer it carefully to a airtight container.

Tips

Always be careful in roasting the spices, don’t burn it. You can use this powder to make sambar, Puli kulambu, curries, stir fries and korma. If you use whole turmeric, you have to give it to flour mill to grind. Do not grind it spice grinder, it will break the blade. If you use spice grinder, grind all the ingredients except turmeric. In that case, you can add turmeric powder separately in dishes. Storing is most important, so store it in a airtight container. Health Benefits of Sambar Powder

Coriander Seeds : Protects against salmonella bacteria, aids in digestion, lowers blood glucose and cholesterol. Red Chillies : They not only add heat to the meal, high in vit A, boost immunity, weight loss, prevents cancer. Turmeric : Prevents cancer, natural pain killer, antimicrobial properties, treatment for depression, prevents Alzheimer’s disease and arthritis, help in weight loss Black Pepper : prevents cancer, weight loss, powerful antioxidants, dental health, antidepressant. Cumin : aids in digestion and respiration, good for lactating mothers, boost the immunity, prevents cancers. Fenugreek : good for diabetes, aids in digestion, good for skin disorders and lactating mothers, cancer prevention, rich in fibers Toor Dal and Bengal Gram Dal: Excellent source of carbohydrates, fibers and protein. Mustard Seeds : high in anti-inflammatory, antioxidants and anti fungal properties, rich in selenium, reduces migraine problems

Tags : Sambar powder, sambar powder recipe, sambar podi, homemade sambar powder, sambar powder preparation, how to make sambar powder.

Baked Sev / Low fat Omapodi Are you in a strict diet to lose weight ? Also craving to eat snack ? Then you should go for this kind of low fat snack… This tasty , low calorie Indian snack are made from besan flour and rice flour for crispness. Try this recipe and let me know your feedback.

Ingredients

1/2 Cup of Besan Flour / Gram Flour 1 Tbsp of Rice Flour 1/2 Tsp of Red Chilly Powder 1/8 Tsp of Ajwain / Carom Seeds Pinch of Asafoetida / Hing 2 Tsp of Oil Water as needed Salt as needed

Method

Dry roast the ajwain / carom seeds for 1 min until you get nice aroma. Powder it with mortar & pestle into a fine powder. Soak this ajwain powder in a 2 Tbsp of water for 10 mins. Filter it using tea strainer and keep this aside. Sieve both besan and rice flour to a bowl. Add red chilly powder, hing and salt. Heat the oil and add it to the flour. Mix well. Finally add ajwain water little by little, mix well by hand. Add required water and make into a soft, smooth dough. Let it sit for 10 mins. Preheat the oven to 400 degree F. Grease your hand with oil Take a small quantity of dough , put it in the sev press. Press it in a circular motion directly to a baking tray, greased with oil. Bake it in a preheated oven at 400 degree F for 7-10 mins. Mine got baked in 8 mins. After it cool down, break the strands as a sev / omapodi and store it in airtight container. Tips

You can use this for topping bhel puri / panni puri. Use small dotted hole plate in sev press to make omapodi / sev. Follow the same ingredients and deep fry it in oil, for a tastier plain sev. If you are not in diet, you can use butter for a great taste. Adjust red chilly powder and salt according to your taste buds. Don’t add too much of ajwain that gives you a bitter taste. In my first try, I did that mistake. While baking, keep an eye on the oven after 5th min, once you find color change, immediately switch it off and take it out. If you keep it for a longer time, it will turn brown, also taste bitter.

Health Benefits of Besan Flour

Rich in folate, iron, magnesium and phosphorus. High in protein and fiber. Great food for diabetic people. Improve heart health.